Beginning an hour earlier than usual, at 7 p.m. ET, the 96th Academy Awards kicked off with an opening monologue from four-khbrknews host Jimmy Kimmel that set the tone for the evening ahead: celebratory, politely humorous, and glam as usual. The show took off from there, with The Holdovers‘ Da’Vine Joy Randolph securing the first win of the night for Best Supporting Actress.
With 13 nominations, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer went into the night with the potential to break the record of 11 wins by a single film held by 1959’s Ben Hur, 1997’s Titanic, and 2003’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. But after losing out on Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay (which went to American Fiction) early on, its chances of even tying the record dropped significantly.
The night was filled with feel-good moments, from an appearance by Anatomy of a Fall‘s canine star Messi to Randolph’s emotional acceptance speech (accompanied by a cutaway to her co-star Paul Giamatti weeping with joy).
Here were the best and worst moments of the 2024 Oscars.
Most Acceptable Opening Monologue
After acknowledging that the show was already running five minutes behind, Kimmel wasted no khbrknews diving into his lineup of prepared jokes. He began by calling out the controversy surrounding Greta Gerwig’s perceived Best Director snub. “Thanks to Greta Gerwig, who many believe deserved to be nominated for Best Director tonight,” he said as many in the room applauded. “Hold on a second. I know you’re clapping, but you’re the ones who didn’t vote for her, by the way.”
He then launched into roasting a number of the night’s biggest attendees, including Robert Downey Jr., Bradley Cooper, and Christopher Nolan. On X, the general buzz surrounding Kimmel’s monologue was that it was somewhat “annoying.”
But he struck a chord by praising the IATSE members who refused to cross the picket lines during last year’s SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. “We were able to make the deals because of the people…
